Minimum power for RF-7's

[Heideana]

I'm trying to get an idea of what adequate power is required for powering RF-7's. I'd originally considered them, but Klipsch tech told me the 90 watt tube amp wasn't enough power; however I'm now upgrading because the RB-75's or RF-5's don't have enough bass and realizing I really want the 10 inch woofers to be happy.

It struck me as weird that any Klipsch speaker should need more then 3-40 watts, as I recall Paul Klipsch used to complain about folks using amplifiers to heat homes because of inefficient speaker designs and 4 KT-88's are definitely enough to heat a room.

Thanks for thoughts and comments...Hopkins Stanley

[rmt]

I use a 2 watt tube amp from Decware to power my RF-7s. It is more than enough power and sounds fabulous.

[leok]

Strange response from Klipsch. Look below, I don't use much power with my RF-7s but most people could use a bit more than I use .. I listen mostly to classical chamber music. I would think 90W would do it for just about anyone. I recommend using the 4 Ohm tap on any tube amp with the RF-7s.

Leo

[psg]

Strange reply from Klipsch indeed.

Ask me what the minimum power should be and I'll ask in return what is the minimum SPL you want. That's "minimum", so it doesn't make any sense.

So long as the amp can handle low impedence...

[Fish]

I can't imagine why 90 true watts would not be enough.I've ran mine with 75 watts ss and they sounded fine,200 watts or more is all good too but not required for great performance.Only if you want tons of headroom and love it loud would you "need"more than you have.

[jacksonbart]

Perhaps the rep was thinking you were going to use them with movies?

[Heideana]

Thanks to all for the responses to my sanity check! I was puzzled about the response from Klipsch Tech and wasn't looking for anything louder then I am getting with my KG3's with a 50-watt Carver and the sensitivity on the RB-75, RF-5 and RF-7 looked oh so much better.

RF-7's should be here by the end of the week to swap for the RF-5's, which puts me where I wanted to start in the first place. Thank god for Goodguys! This is the third swap during this Klipsch adventure!

If I wanted to get another tube amp with 200 watts for a bit of extra power under $5K including pre-amp, are there any suggestions? It looks like only the Rogue or Antique Sound Labs monoblocks are the only solution I've found on the web in my range.

Again, thanks to all the help I've received from the forum to date.

[MrMcGoo]

The difficulty in driving RF-7s is with the minimum impedance. A 90 watt tube amp will be more than enough power for most folks provided it has a 4 ohm tap.

In solid state, it is the ability to drive 4 ohm and 2 ohm loads that is more important than total watts. I happen to like lots of headroom in solid state because clipping can be catastrophic. In tube amps clipping is usually a bit softer than solid state.

Bill

[Heideana]

I've got 4 ohm taps...can I safely run the RF-7's at that given my tube amp?

thanks...Hopkins

[Audio Flynn]

I'd originally considered them, but Klipsch tech told me the 90 watt tube amp wasn't enough power

+++++++++++++

????

Who the heck was that?

SCREWY

You could add a little 12 inch sealed sub for reinforcement.

[MrMcGoo]

With 4 ohm taps on your tube amp, you should have excellent bass. Just don't turn it up super loud in the 1812 Overture (due to the cannon shots) or with any super loud explosions.

The RF-7s should be loud enough to wake the dead with 90 tube watts.

In solid state I would usually recommends 200 watts just to get high current. However, there are some 100 watt solid state amps that are high current that would be more than enough power.

Bill

[jacksonbart]

"You could add a little 12 inch sealed sub for reinforcement."

That is good advice IMO, I use the RSW15 for music as well as movies. Many people claim the RF7 as overly bright, perhaps because I have always done serious listening with a sub I have not had the same experiance or perhaps my hearing is shot. I currently have the cross over at 60hz and it works for me. Good luck.

[Heideana]

I switched my Rogue over to 4-ohms and played the intro to Electric Ladyland in triode mode. It was if the RF-5's found religion and finally they were loud enough to drive me out of the room! I can't wait to see what the RF-7's do when they arrive...

I had asked Klipsch tech about the switch, along with a few other questions, that they couldn't answer. I suspect they're worried about liability issues, as one of my questions was about the swapping out of crossovers that I've read about on the Forum. I also learned that its' Klipsch's policy to not release frequency response curves, which I found interesting.

To cover myself, I asked Mark O'Brien at Rogue Audio if the amp could handle either of the RF's at 4-ohms and he told me no problem...Back to Electric Ladyland...best and thanks for the advice...Hopkins Stanly

[msst]

*** Many people claim the RF7 as overly bright ***

Than they don't know what they are doing! The RF-7 are not bright, it will only be as bright or harsh from the wrong equipment used with it.